Soldering iron



SePt- 9 1952 H. A. BLEAM ETAL 2,609,778

SOLDERING IRON 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Filed June 29, 1949 /IV VE /V T ORSHOWARD A. BLEAM FRED S/NGLEMAN DOUGLAS. MILLER By W Maz/La7.

Patented Sept. 9, 1.952

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MillerQChicago, Ill., assignors to Admiral"Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaapplication June ze,1949, seriai No. 101,956

Claims.

This invention relatos to soldering irons, and more. particularly to asoldering iron to be used for disconnecting soldered, joints and leavingthem clear of excess solder. Y

At times it is desirable, particularly in radio World, to disconnect.soldered joints. In order to doy this, it is common to melt the solderand separate the previously joined parts.` The most common parts whichare joined are a wire and a terminal 11.1%. When such parts aredisconnected, the sol'der formerly used to hold them together frequentlycollects in a ball on the lug. on the Wire or else falls 01T into .thoradio Whore it iS not Wanted.

Our invention provides a" means for removing this undesired solder fromthe joined parts and leaving them clear and free of excess solder,leaving. `only* a tinned surface. The solder may also be ,transported tosome place where it will not be objectionablel In addition to thecleaning action, vour invention by its operation cools the jointsomewhat to allow handling sooner after disassembly than has heretoforebeen pos.

sible.

In the drawings: l

Fig. 1 is a View ShDwing one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the tip of the iron;

Fig, v3 is a yiewshowing an alternative embodiment of my invention beingcompletely free of external pressure lines;

Fig. 41s ya view .of a second alternative embodiment;

Fig.v 5 is a view ,of another embodiment having a different type ofportable pressure source;

Fig. 6 is a' view of an embodiment using a different' pressure supply;

Fig. 7 is a view of another alternative embodiment using an externalpressure source;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of an embodiment using a vacuum rather Ythanpressure; and

l9 is 4a view of afreplaceable tip for my invention. 7

Referring new to the drawings, throughout which like referencecharacters designate like parts, our invention comprises brieily asoldering iron having an opening in the tip thereof and a means forcreating a reduced pressure in this opening Ato suck the surrounding airtherethrough, which air will then carry excess melted solder into thetip and away from the joint being disassembled.

More specifically, ,our invention comprises a soldering iron having theusual handle Il and a tis l? Our invention is applicable to, ,eitherelectrically heated or enternally-heated irons and the illustration o fYthe electrically heated iron is not to be construed as a limitationofour invention to that application.

The tip I2 of the iron may be formed, in the usual manner, of copper or;the like having a pyramidal point I3. Atl or Ynear. the pointl a smallhole I4 extends into the tip, In the pren ferred embodiment, a secondhole I5 extends transversely through thev tip and intersects the smallhole I 4 at a right angle. A jet l@ is directed into the hole I5formingv an ejetor or aspirator within the tipv I2 which will` cause aregion of low pressure at the juncture of the intersecting holes I4 andI5 upon a jet of air being forced through the hole I5. A connection I'Iis made to the jet It to provide, for the passage through the iet le ofthis compressed air. A connection I3 is also made at the hole I5 tocarry away the air and entrained solder.

In operation, our device is particularly adapted to the disconnectionofv previously soldered joints. In order to yaccomplish this, the ironis heated by the usual methody and applied to the solderedjoint. Thesolder will melt and at this time a blast of, compressed air isintroduced through the connection I'I to the jet It. By reason of thevelocity of the, air, the pressure within the tip becomes less thanatmospheric pressure, and the air around the point I3 will be drawn intothe hole I4 carrying with it the inol-k ten solder left on the joint and`ejecting it from the outlet of the second hole i5. A tube I5leadingvaway from the hole I5 may be provided to carry the solder awayfrom the tip I2 and into a filter bag 20. This bag is preferably made ofa heat resistant porous substance such asV asbestos. The rush of airover thejoint into the small hole I4 will also serve to `coolthe piecesformerly joined and enable them tobe handled sooner after disconnectionthan was previously possible.r It is apparent that the device mayl alsobe used to remove excess solder from a newly formed joint or to cool thenew joint in `much the same manner. o

It is also conceived that a portable source oi pressure may bev usedwiththe embodiment of Figfl. This is shown in Fig.. 3 which shows thesame iron having a tip'in all respects the same as that shown in Fig.2V. air pump 2 Iv is carried on the iron and is connected by a tube 22from the pressure Vend 2i) of .the lcylinder 24 of the pump to theconnection Il. The .piston 25 is spring loaded by a compression spring25 around the piston rod 21 which tends to force the piston towards theend 23 of the cylinder. A latch arrangement of any convenient type,shown diagrammatically at 28 holds the piston in a cocked positionagainst the force of the spring 26. A trigger 29 for the latch 28 isarranged to be released by the operator of the iron'whenever he desiresto remove the solder which has been melted. This may be a constructionsimilar to the common toy air gun.

It is conceived that the pump 2| may be made readily removable from theiron by providing clips 30 by which the pump may be clipped onto theiron. The tube 22 may -then be flexible and have an easily connectedscrew type 4tube fitting at its end. This arrangement would permit theconvenient use of the same iron for soldering or undoing solderedjoints, and when there is no likelihood of having to break a solderedconnection, the pump and its accessories could be easily removed. i

A permanent installation ofA this type of device is illustrated in Fig.4 where the pump is enclosed in and integral with the handle II of theiron. In an embodiment such as this,the electric cord 3| of an electriciron may have to extend from the side of the stem of the iron instead ofthrough the handle as is customary, although it could be enlarged toreceive the cord alongside the chamber. In this embodiment, it ispreferred tohave the cooking handle 32 and piston rod 33 Whichis fixedto the handle 32, free of the piston 34. The piston could then be cockeduntil the ange 34| is caught by the latch 35.. The handleA 33 would thenbe pushed back in where it could be held by any customary type. ofdetent, not shown, the piston being reciprocable on andguided by therod. 33. Then upon releaseof the latch 35, by the lever 36, the piston34 would be forced quickly to the end of the cylinder by the spring 3'|,thus forcing air through the tube 22 in a manner the same as previouslydescribed.

Another embodiment which is portable and self contained is shown in Fig.5. Y The tip isvthe same as that of .the previously `described em-vbodiment, and a tube 22 is similarly connected thereto. -In thehandle II, however, is a chamber 39 adapted to receive a small cylinder 40 ofcompressed carbon dioxide suchas is used for `carbonation of water inSeltzer bottles.-V The chamber 39 is provided with a sealinggasket 4I atthe neck of the cylinder 40 andhas .a Aperforating point 42 adapted tobreak the seal at the neck of the cylinder when the cylinder isvforcedinto the chamber 39 by screwingthe-cap 43 into the i.,

handle. A valve 44, which is shown-as a-spring loaded poppet type valvebut-need not besuch, is provided which will control the flow of the gasfrom the cylinder. A trigger lever45 is provided in the handle II of theiron adapted to be controlled by the thumb or forenger of the operator.r Still another alternative has. been conceived. This latter embodiment(Fig. 6) Yutilizes steam pressure to provide the high velocity stream inthe ejector so that air from about the tip will be drawn in. Y The steamis provided by forcing a small amounty of waterto ow from` a smallcontainer 45 into a lashfboiler 4.1 whereit is vaporized immediately andbecause of the sudden expansion isvforced through the tube 48 to the jetwhere its action is the same as though air were being forced vrapidlythrough the `iet. The charging of the boiler is accomplished by means ofa small pump 49 formed in the container. It will readily be seen thatthe pump will force a small stream of Water into the boiler 4'I againstthe hot corrugations or threads 50 thereof, causing an immediategeneration of steam which can escape only through the tube 4S andtherefore through the jet. The boiler is preferably madeof a high heatconductive metal 'such as copper. Being a portable instrument, it can beheld in any position other than that shown. For instance, it may bedesirable to hold it so that the water is supplied from the top siderather than the bottom. The illustration shows the entrance tube bent sothat the stream of'water isf directed toward the corrugations, however.Y lv The alternative embodiment shown in Fig. 7 comprises a similar tipI2 having a point i3. A hole I4 extends from the point I3 through thetip .I2 and connects with another perpendicular hole 52 in the tip as inthe rst embodiment but forms a continuous channel with the hole I 4 fromthe point I3., VA connection 53 for a tube 54 isprovidedat this hole 52,and the tube 54 extends therefrom to the upright of a connection 55 ofvapproximately T shape. Thevcompressed air connection leads to the crosspiece of the T at ,56. The action-of this device is similar to thatfirst described, the difference being that the ejectoris outside thetip, K and Atherefore the solder will probably be cooled somewhat intraveling through the tube 54. A filter bag 2U may also be provided forthis embodiment.

Still .another embodiment using an external source of vacuum is shown inFig. 8 where the tip `I2 of the iron is formed similarly to that of Fig.7. vThevacuum forming device may be a Water powered eduction device ofwhich many are well known, or it may be afoot poweredde'- vice suchas isshown. A bellows devicev 6|] is shown diagrammatically to illustrateanother possible method of. obtaining the' necessary vacuum. In theillustrated embodiment, the operator would keep hisrfoot pressed on thepedal 6I until it was desired to clear the joint of solder. Upon releaseof the pedal, a spring within the bellows forces the bellows upcreatingV a decreased pressure in the chamber 62 to which it isconnected by a tube 63. This chamber houses the filter bag 20 and istightly sealed about the tube 54 and 63. Therefore, a low pressure iscreated inthe hole I4 and air rushes thereinto carrying solder asbefore.

Itwill be readily apparent that the bellows 6i] could readily bereplaced by a pump arrangement.

An embodiment of our invention having a separated tipand ejector unit isshown in Fig. 9. This embodiment is similar in action to that of Figs. 1and 2, the difference lying in the formation of the tip. n An ejectorpiece 64 having a stem 65 is inserted into` the iron heating element.This piece has the ejector formed in it similarto the rst embodiment.. YThe loW pressure hole S6,-

however, leads to a chamber 61 of proper size to receive the tip I2. Thesmall hole I4 extends completely through this tip I2, and when the tipis in placerin the chamber 61, the hole I4 communicates with hole 68.The tip I-2 is held in the chamber-5'! by a set vscrew 68. It isapparent that the action of this device is similar to that of the firstembodiment with the advantage that if the tip needsreplacement, theejector piece may be retained, thus making replacements much lessexpensive.

It is thus apparent that we have provided a means for cleaning thesolder from a soldered joint by causing a stream of air to entrain thesolder and carry it through the tip of the iron.

Having thus described our invention, we are aware that numerous andextensive departures may be made therefrom without departing from thespirit or scope of our invention.

We claim:

1. In a soldering iron, a tip having a point and formed to provide apassageway leading into said tip from near said point, a largerpassageway intersecting said first named passageway, and a jetpassageway opening into said larger passageway and substantially in linetherewith, and a source of gas pressure connected to said jet passagewaywhereby said passages are adapted to act as an aspirator to draw air andentrained molten solder through the passageway from near said point.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said source of pressure is portableand xed to said soldering iron.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the source of pressure is a pumpmeans having a spring loaded plunger, and means on said pump meansengageable with said plunger for quick release thereof.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the source of pressure is a chamberof compressed gas inserted in the handle of said iron, tube meansuleading from said chamber to said jet passageway 6 said iron and havinga spring loaded plunger, tube means connected between said pump and saidjet passageway, and latch means engaging said plunger adapted to releasesaid plunger for quick spring pressed movement thereof.

HOWARD A. BLEAM. FRED SINGLEMAN. DOUGLAS MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 81,060 Ashcroft Aug. 18, 1868842,100 Von Lindenstamm Jan. 22, 1907 1,067,802 Dana July 22, 19131,609,844 Swanson Dec. 7, 1926 1,721,951 Gould July 23, 1929 1,928,129Hornack Sept. 26, 1933 1,929,666 Williams Oct. 10, 1933 1,938,330 HallDec. 5, 1933 1,957,325 Davis May 1, 1934 1,981,570 Price Nov. 20, 19342,184,980 Smith Dec. 26, 1939 2,300,765 Barnhart Nov. 3, 1942 2,452,360Dunham Oct. 26, 1948 2,515,097 Schryber July 11, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 181,042 Great Britain June 15, 1922 231,303 GermanyJuly 26, 1908

